Japanese airline repaints planes due to Russian invasion of Ukraine
The Japanese airline ZIPAIR was forced to repaint its planes to avoid being associated with supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Until the spring of 2022, the tails of ZIPAIR airliners bore a capital Z, the airline’s logo. This letter was used by the Russian military as an insignia on their vehicles entering Ukraine.
Since the Russian authorities turned Z into a symbol of an attack on Ukraine, the Japanese airline’s management decided to abandon the logo because of reputational risks.
“Some people may think that the airline supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine when they see the logo without any explanation,” explained ZIPAIR’s decision in March 2022, its president Shingo Nishida.
Initially, the Z on the tail of the aircraft was covered with stickers with colored stripes, and from the end of 2022, they began to repaint it completely.
The chronology of the aircraft design changes can be seen in the following photos:
Now the new design of ZIPAIR airliners includes the airline’s name on the fuselage, a green stripe along the windows, and a tail with gray, black, white, and green stripes.
In March 2023, the Japanese airline received another aircraft into its fleet – a new Boeing 787 with registration JA850J. The aircraft was painted in an updated livery without a Z on the tail at the factory.
